DCHRS Statement on al-Bab Massacre in Aleppo for September 9, 2014

On Thursday September 18, 2014, at approximately 10:00 PM, the Syrian regime warplanes perpetrated a massacre in Aleppo – Al-Bab city by targeting a line of civilians who were standing in line to buy bread in front of a bakery with a barrel bomb. Tens of civilians were killed in this massacre instantly while they were hoping to go home with some bread that’s extremely difficult to find and get in the besieged province of Aleppo.

The initial estimated death toll is 41 documented victims. Additionally, tens of civilians were wounded by the Syrian regime warplanes that also targeted Al-Makateb Street in Aleppo – Al-Bab city.

The Syrian regime deliberately targeted the area with a barrel bomb that has a weight of more than 450kg to kill instantly tens of civilians including children and women. Furthermore, the shelling wounded over 83 civilians and caused great material damages.

The targeted area is an absolutely civil area that has no military presence during or before the time of the shelling. Civil defense and Fire fighters teams headed immediately to the targeted area while Ambulance San Frontiers (MSF) organization transferred the wounded and charred dead bodies to field-hospitals. Nevertheless, the fires that broke out in the buildings due to the shelling hindered the medical teams to reach the charred bodies, transfer them, or even recognize them.

DCHRS activists noted that the final death toll is not confirmed yet since there are tens of civilians who are critically wounded. But by the end of Thursday September 18, 2014, DCHRS documented 41 civilian victims who were killed in Aleppo – Al-Bab city. The following are their names:
1- Abdullah Othman Ar-Ragheb.
2- Samer Haddad.
3- Beshr Shehabi.
4- Mohammad Abdulaziz Al-Ataqi.
5- Mustafa An-Naqou.
6- Ahmad Taqi Assfour.
7- Trad Al-Abd Al-Jawad.
8- Hussein Al-Kousa.
9- Ahmad Mohammad Kalzi.
10- Ahmad Kassar.
11- Hamidi Ad-Dahham.
12- Khawla Haj Omar.
13- Child Mohammad Ali Az-Zou’bi.
14- Abdulmu’ti Ar-Ragheb.
15-16- Two unidentified victims, from “Ar-Ragheb” family.
17- Unidentified 30-something woman victim.
18- Unidentified female child victim.
19- Unidentified victim/
20- Victim called Mansour. His full name wasn’t confirmed.
21- Victim called Faraj, his full name wasn’t confirmed.
22- Mohammad Ali Al-Bzie’i.
23- Walid Abulasal.
24- Unidentified victim, Walid Abulasal’s son.
25- Bassam Abulasal.
26- Mohammad Abulasal.
27- Eidou Al-Ali.
28- Othman Bakri.
29- Osama Ibied.
30- Abdussalam Ar-Ragheb.
31-41- Eleven unidentified victims.

DCHRS strongly condemns the continuous targeting of innocent unarmed civilians using barrel bombs by the Syrian regime. Barrel bombs are killing new victims, including women, children, and elderlies, in Syria every day.

This ongoing policy of indiscriminate shelling and siege against civil areas and civilians gatherings reflects the Syrian regime’s complete and utter disregard of the international humanitarian law and the lives of the unarmed innocent civilians especially women and children. Also, this shows that the Syrian regime does not genuinely want to end the Syrian crisis.

Since the beginning of the peaceful protests, the Syrian regime has been perpetrating continuous crimes against civilians every day to terrorize the Syrian people and destroy Syria’s infrastructure while disregarding all the international resolutions, covenants, and conventions which state that civilians must not be targeted during armed conflicts.

DCHRS urges the U.N. and the Security Council to take immediate action in order to protect the civilians and IDPs in Syria from the Syrian regime’s barrel bombs and airstrikes.

Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies

18/09/2014

For more information, please contact
Dr. Radwan Ziadeh, Executive director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies.
Phone (571) 205-3590
Email : radwan.ziadeh@gmail.com

Mr. Mojahed Ghadban, Communication Officer.
Telephone (479) 799-8115
Email: info@dchrs.org

DCHRS is an independent, non-governmental organization, established in 2005, located in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Its mission is to foster a spirit of support and respect for the values and standards of human rights in Syria. As such, DCHRS recognizes and adheres to all pertinent international human rights agreements and declarations issued by the UN.

DCHRS is a member of the following international networks:

• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
• Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN)
• NGO Coalition for the international Criminal Court
• International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP)
• International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC)

DCHRS worked on a variety of documentation projects. Such projects included daily casualty reports, massacre reports, and other human rights violations reports. Also DCHRS has been working on advocacy and lobbying in different human rights institutions in order to educate and acknowledge about the deteriorating human rights situation in Syria.. After the launch of the Syrian revolution, the center increased its activities through working, communicating, and coordinating with many members and activists. Thus the center began documenting daily violations committed by the Syrian regime forces that can be classified as crimes against humanities and war crimes. Such violations included: extrajudicial killings, massacres, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, rape, torture in prisons. DCHRS opened local offices in Syria in order to document, collect, and observe human rights violations on the ground. DCHRS submitted those reports to many international and regional human rights organizations and communicated with the Report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on Syria.